An Earlier Variation

I realized after I published "A Gift for a Guardian Angel" that I neglected to post photos of sweater I earlier had knitted for one of my cherished physicians. It was a big project: the recipient wears extra-long garments, and the finished sweater measured 50 inches across. It took about eight weeks to knit it—at a pace of about four hours of knitting per day.

(The most common two remarks people make about knitting: "How long did that take?" and "If I buy the yarn, will you knit me a sweater?")



Madison and Verona, Wisconsin, October 2013. This design is Alice Starmore's "Alba" from The Celtic Collection. I changed the colors to the same 15, undyed natural colors I earlier had used to knit the same sweater for Mr. Irene.

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The design also is available, as a kit, here.

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Oh! And I knitted the original design, way back when, for myself:

We've planted the flower garden.

Kėdainiai, Lithuania, probably early 1930s. My friend V sent along another image of her paternal Grandmother, her Dad, and her paternal Uncle.

Thanks, V!

Watch your step.

Suburban Chicago, January 1959. My Mom and my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, return from a shopping trip. Back then, people thought sixty-year-olds were "old," and stores sent you home with "brown paper packages tied up with string."

A Friend's Family

Kėdainiai, Lithuania, probably early 1930s. My friend V sent this image of her Dad (front), her paternal Grandfather, her paternal Uncle, and her paternal Grandmother.

Thanks, V!

Exchanging Portraits (Part 1)

I've noticed how many friends gave me portraits of themselves—most often from high-school-senior sittings—as mementos. I run across them periodically when I'm scouring for photos for the blog. I'm charmed by the tender, young sentiments my friends wrote on the back of those images.

It's also charming that earlier generations engaged in the same ritual of friendship. I'll be posting some of the images in this new little series I am starting today.

Kaunas, Lithuania, April 1, 1932. This fellow is a friend of my Dad's older cousin, Henry.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Difficult to Identify

Padubysis, Lithuania, probably early- to mid-1920s. We have a few photos from Padubysis, Lithuania. It's probably a place where my Dad's paternal Grandparents lived or had a summer place. The snapshots are difficult to scan because someone laminated them—probably to protect the images from getting crumpled.

Old Photos and a Scrapbook

Ernest Hemingway's mother collected memories about her son's Oak Park childhood.

Stumped

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1936. Kaunas Nina—the daughter of my Dad's older cousin, Henry—checks out the wagon.

Thanks to Kaunas Nina's daughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Gathered

Padubysis, Lithuania, probably early- to mid-1920s. I initially resisted posting this photo because it is poorly focused. Both my Dad and his twin Jonė, however, kept the image among their important papers. Dad and Jonė only wrote the name of a Lithuanian city, Padubysis, on the back of the snapshot. I decided to post the photo because it shows several generations of the family of my paternal Grandfather, Vytautas. Vytautas is the tanned fellow standing in the back row, second from left. My Dad and Jonė likely are the children sitting on the ground.

Passengers

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, late 1920s. Suzanne—the wife of my Dad's older cousin, Henry—and her sister Valerie let the driver manage the whip.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Related by Marriage: Father's Day, Way-Back-When

Bridgeport, Chicago, Illinois, 1935. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather, Stanley, celebrates the day with his daughters, Martha and Mr. Irene's Mom. The trio poses on the family home's back porch.

A Smoking Man

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1970. My Dad's older cousin, Henry, enjoys a cigarette. In way-back-when times, men liked to be photographed while they were smoking.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Way-Back-When Road Trip

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1936. Members of Suzanne's family head off to a summer vacation spot. The girl in the wagon with the bobbed haircut is Suzanne's daughter, Kaunas Nina.
 
Thanks to Kaunas Nina's daughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Those Melancholy Eyes

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1927. This is my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana. This image arrived in the "new batch" of photos my Kaunas Cousin recently sent. It also is a photograph I never seen.

Here's how Tatjana looked about twenty years later, after World War II.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Summer Whites

 

Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1920. This is a portrait of Valerie's family. Valerie was the older sister of Suzanne—the wife of my Dad's cousin Henry.

 

Thanks to Suzanne's Granddaughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Bridal Wreath

Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1905. This is the wedding portrait of Suzanne's mother.

 

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo of her Great-Grandmother available to us.

Formal Family Portrait

Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1914. Suzanne, her older sister Valerie, and her parents visit the studio.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Mystery Man

new batch of photos my Kaunas Cousin recently sent. Neither she nor I can identify this fellow. The back of the photo has a note—written in Polish—stating that the image is a memento from Adam, the brother of Platera (?). Although the photo has the 1909 date on it, there is a cross in front of the year, and that tells us that Adam probably died in 1909. 

 

We have other photos of Suzanne—my Kaunas Cousin's maternal grandmother and the wife of my Dad's older cousin, Henry—indicating that she and her family lived in Vilnius in the early part of the twentieth century. I therefore think this man is an ancestor of Suzanne's. Was he her mother's brother? Or was he her grandfather? If the date of his death was 1909, then I will guess that this was Suzanne's grandfather or perhaps a great-uncle.

 

Fashion Forward

Lithuania, probably late 1930s or early 1940s. This is Ann, a relative of my friend Ron. I wish we wore hats today as often as people sported them way-back-when.

Thanks to my friend Ron for making this photo available to us.

Old Photos ...

... from Old Russia.